The Raggedy Man and the Big Bad Wolf
by Raven Jadewolfe
Summary: Left stranded without the Doctor for a second time, she searches for a way back home. During a mission for Torchwood though, she encounters a strange glowing crack which catapults her back into her original dimension...and into a young girl's bedroom. Language, adult situations, violence. Multiple pairings. Some OCs. I also desperately tried not to rehash episodes. Fluffy.
1. Chapter 1

I own no copyrighted material

Unbeta'd so any and all grammar/spelling mistakes are mine alone.

_They hadn't even left the shores of the frigid beach when the half human Doctor collapsed with an agonized scream, his head clutched in his hands._

_"Neural Implosion" he had insisted through clenched jaws, not wanting her to worry even while she and her mum carried him to a fishing shelter._

_"Aneurysm" she figured out on her own only a few short hours after his pain ridden breaths had finally ground to a halt, his ears, nose, and eyes wet with scarlet trails she had wiped away so many times. _

_Both Doctors had made a grievous mistake. The metacrisis didn't have enough of the original Doctor's genetics to contain his Timelord mind so he had burned from the inside out._

_But still, he had bequeathed unto her two gifts even as he laid dying in her arms. The first was his many centuries of knowledge, passed from his mind to hers in the form of swirling memories that made her head swim. The second, and equally important, gift was his blessing, no, insistence that she did what was necessary in order to find a way back to the lonely god who had sacrificed his own happiness for theirs._

_And so she tried so hard to get back to the only thing in any universe that meant home to her anymore, watching her family grow older and more distant as time passed. Each vain attempt added yet another fracture to her already battered heart._

_And then, while investigating a rumored haunted house as a favor to her colleagues at Torchwood, she happened upon something that defied any reality she had ever traveled to in all her long years._

_There was a crack in the wall of one of the bedrooms and it glowed with an eerie light. Her scans told her that it didn't exist, yet her eyes refused to accept it. With a deep breath of anticipation, she proceeded to do what her blue eyed, crass and grumpy Doctor warned her not to do long ago._

_"To hell with it," she muttered to herself and shoved her sonic screwdriver into the gaping hole._

Her body slams into a hard surface, knocking the wind out of her lungs as she collapses into an undignified heap.

"You're not the raggedy man," a quiet voice accuses and she can hear the speaker move closer, "He told me he would be back in five minutes."

The woman fights down the urge to sick up while she raises herself to her hands and knees, then looks up to see a ginger haired, freckled girl staring down at her, "Sorry, I seem to have gotten a bit lost. Do you live here?"

"Of course I do," the child waves a hand around the decidedly not abandoned space that is cluttered with toys, drawings, and clothing, "You're in my room."

She picks up her sonic and leans back on her heels to scan the area, "Not temporal displacement. Time bubble maybe? No, too hard to sustain without a major power source nearby. Weeping angels? No. Even their offspring aren't as small as any of these dolls." She lowers her instrument and casts her attention back to the girl, "Sweetheart, I don't mean to sound daft, but could you tell me the exact date today is?"

"April 13th, 1996," the girl confidently announces before heaving out an impatient breath, "Stupid Doctor and his stupider blue box. Can't tell the difference between five minutes and a month."

At the word "Doctor" the woman's head snaps up from her sonic, "You're waiting for the Doctor to come back with his ship?"

The girls nods vigorously, "He said he had to do something with his police box ship, then he was going to come back for me so I could go on a trip with him. Do you know the Doctor too?"

"Quirky, hyperactive, gob that won't quit? Boy do I know him," she confesses, finally getting to her feet and wiping her scraped hands on her trouser legs, "Did he happen to say what was wrong with his police box?"

"Well, it crashed in the garden, then he climbed out and was all wet, said he fell into the pool that was in the library. And he wanted apples. Then he spit them out and asked for yogurt, but he didn't like that either-" She drifts off for a moment before gasping, "His clothes were all ripped like he'd been fightin' and they didn't fit right and he kept coughin' out this gold glitter. Told me he was still cookin', whatever that was supposed to mean. Then he walked into a tree...that was before he wanted fish fingers and custard though-"

"The Tardis crashed in your garden?" she couldn't keep her voice from quaking, "And you said he was coughin' up gold glitter? Blimey, he's regenertated. Oh Doctor, how am I supposed to find you now?"

"What are you talkin' about? Ma'am?"

"It means the Doctor has been very sick recently and, if his police box crash landed in your garden, it means he is trying to fix her while he's gettin' better. That's why he hasn't come back for you yet," she surmises aloud, as much for her own benefit as the child's. A moment later she realizes she's forgotten something, "What's your name sweetheart?"

"Amelia Pond, but Mels and Rory call me Amy," Amelia tells her, then jumps when a thump suddenly echoes through the old house, "My aunt Sharon! You have to hide!"

Thinking quickly, she dashes over to the back window and pushes it open, "I'll start looking for the Doctor Amy. Stay away from that crack in your wall until I find him. Promise me."

"I promise," the girl vows as she watches the woman slip out, then races to stick her head out as well, "Wait! What's your name? In case the Doctor comes back while your gone, I can tell him you're lookin' for him."

"Rose," the lie she's prepared is bittersweet as it leaves her mouth, but she can't have two Rose Tyler's mucking about this timeline, ever, "My name is Rose Smith. Now get in bed, and I will be back as soon as I think it's safe."

"Yes ma'am," Amy whispers and Rose hears the window click shut just as her boots touch the spongy ground.

A minute later, as she heaves herself over the the stone wall and begins legging it away from the house, she curses herself for not asking young Amelia where she'd come out at. This causes her to detour closer to town until she finds a call box with its phone directory still intact.

"Bugger me, I'm in Leadworth?!"


	2. Chapter 2

I own no copyrighted material.

It takes some time, but eventually she finds a cash machine which she then utilizes a trick of the Doctor's-overloading its circuits-to get a stack of cashy money. Afterwords she raids a couple of snack machines then wanders the rain slicked streets until she happens upon an abandoned, but structurally sound, garage hidden in a copse of trees on the towns outermost fringes. Once securing the stone building and fitting it with a portable perception filter to keep away unwanted visitors, she wearily slides off her bulky pack, empties her jacket and trouser pockets, and begins the arduous process of taking inventory of the supplies she had brought with her across the void.

While her hands are busy, she gingerly sifts through the other Doctor's murky, star filled memories that perpetually dance at the back of her mind, trying to determine where he would be cavorting about during this time period, but nothing helpful or familiar surfaces.

"Should be safe from any paradoxes for a while then, that's a relief," she murmurs to herself, then smiles as she gently extracts her most precious cargo from her bigger on the inside rucksack, a large cylindrical glass tube that holds a swirling, multi-hued mist that largely obscures the cinder block sized piece of coral tucked inside, "Hello Beauty, how are we holding up? That jump couldn't have been easy on you."

A gentle glow starts wafting from inside the container, the light-stronger than she's ever seen it- pulsing in time with her heartbeat as she feels the barest nudge brush her own mind. "Oh, you know where we are, don't you? I know the big parallel universe couldn't kill you, but there's nothing better for a baby Tardis than being back home, is there?"

The light flares momentarily, as if in agreement, then fades to a subdued tone while Rose ticks down the long list of scans with her sonic. When she is finished, she places the tube on a workbench and gives it an affectionate pat, "Looking good little one. I was worried that the crack might have had some lingering residual effects on you, but I guess you are still young enough to not get sick like your mum did. Maybe now that we're almost where and when we need to be, you will be able to grow big and strong while we wait for the right Doctor, our Doctor, to show his face."


	3. Chapter 3

I own no copyrighted material.

Every day she sneaks back to Amelia's house, hoping that the young Scottish girl has heard from their elusive Timelord. When she visits though, she always makes certain to avoid the child's aunt, all too aware the woman would demand to know why Rose had suddenly taken an interest in her niece. Each time she feels a sting though because Amy's answer never changes. No sign of the Doctor yet.

To pass the time, Rose spends hours with the lonely child, regaling her with tales of her adventures with the Doctor. On the days she arrives before Amy is home from school, she investigates the impossible crack in the wall of Amy's bedroom. While it continues to be an enigma wrapped in a conundrum that is liberally drizzled with nonsensical befuddlement, the woman does what she can to patch it over so that Amelia can at least get some small respite from the haunting lights and sounds that sporadically drift out of it.

Weeks into the new routine, when she happens upon a creature lurking in one of the unused rooms of the large house, it is only her swift reflexes and Timelord touched mind that save her and Amy from a gruesome end. Needing to remove the corpse hastily, Rose and her little companion narrowly escape Aunt Sharon's notice, but must leave the house a disaster as they slip out and cart the being back to Rose's hidden garage.

Inside, Amy gawks at the plethora of gadgets Rose has managed to build from stolen scraps, but none of them capture her attention like the crystalline coral that now resides in what appears to be a massive fish tank. She continues to be fascinated while the woman disposes of the remains, but launches into her interrogation the second she returns. "Why does it make that humming noise?"

Rose crosses the room and carefully drapes an old quilt over the tank before opting for an honest answer, "She is just a baby right now and the noise we made when we came in startled her."

"Why did you cover it-her up? Was she cold or something?"

"Not really. The blanket is more to provide a buffer between us and her so she can sleep," Rose affectionately runs a hand over the duvet, "She's grown so much. You should have seen her when I first arrived. So small-"

"You mean to say that the big lump of rock is honestly alive?" Amelia pushes, lifting one corner of the cloth to peer inside, "Is she a good alien or a bad one?"

"Yeah she's alive and she is one of the good kind. She's a baby Tardis and her name is Beauty. One day, when she's all grown up, she will be able to fly amongst the stars just like the Doctor's," she moves away to plug in the electric kettle, ending the line of questioning, "The loo is fully functional if you want to clean up a bit. Not sure if any of the clothes I have will fit you though."

"It's alright. I'll just tell my aunt I was out in the woods with Rory and Mels again, that's how I usually get this dirty anyways," Amy's voice becomes muffled as she closes the door and turns on the faucet, "Can I come with you when your Tardis is done growing? We could look for the Doctor together that way."

"We will have to wait and see sweetheart. I have no clue how fast Beauty will grow now that I've managed to gather all of the right nutrients for her," Rose takes out a loaf of bread, as well as some cold cuts, and begins assembling sandwiches for the two of them, "Hopefully the Doctor will be back before we have time to find out."

"Maybe," the younger girl says, her tone full of doubt, after she emerges somewhat cleaner than earlier and takes a seat beside Rose, "It's been almost two months, he can't be too much longer. Can he?"

She shrugs and hands Amy her plate, then starts pouring the tea, "I don't know sweetheart. But one thing I've learned when dealing with that crazy, wonderful man: If the Doctor doesn't show himself after five and a half hours, it's time to be brilliant and save yourself. Speaking of, I have to make another side trip for some equipment. That means I will be gone at least a few days. I wish I didn't have to go and leave you, but I think your aunt would notice if you suddenly disappeared for more than a day and it might take me up to a week to find what I'm looking for. Well, it might take longer, but that's all the time I'm givin' myself."

"You can't leave me Rose," Amy whimpers and hugs herself to the woman, "Who else is going to believe me about my Raggedy Man?"

"Oh Amy," Rose gathers the girl into her arms and kisses her on the forehead, "I'll only be gone a few days, I promise. I'm even gonna leave most of my stuff here, not includin' Beauty, so I can travel even faster. I have to take Beauty with me though, I'm sorry to say, so you won't be able to visit her while I'm gone."

"Why are you willing to take her but not me? She can't do anything, she's just a baby!" the child wails, tears threatening to overflow.

"I have to take her somewhere because it holds a special kind of energy that a Tardis uses for food. I'm hoping that if I take her there to fill up, the Doctor's Tardis might sense the little one, then lock on to our location and bring him straight to us," she beams her a reassuring smile before adding, " Also, a big tummyful of Artron energy just might be the boost Beauty needs to trigger a growth spurt which, in turn, will help her mature faster. I have to at least try this, otherwise it could take her decades, maybe centuries, longer to be able to travel."

"That...makes sense. Kind of," Amy finally admits before scooting away to bashfully dry her cheeks, "So where are you going then? You can tell me that, can't you?"

Rose bobs her head as she resumes doling out tea, "I'm going to Cardiff. In Wales."


	4. Chapter 4

I own no copyrighted material.

It isn't easy to leave Amelia behind, but traveling so far with who knows what awaiting her at the rift, Rose cannot bring herself to regret leaving the child safe at home. After she secures a room at a hotel that rests on the farthest edges of the rift and ensuring the young Tardis was not going to have a negative reaction to the steady stream of artron energy, she heads out in search of the single person who would be able to help her.

She finds them sitting just outside of a crowded pub, their sparkling azure eyes searching the clear night sky.

"Hello Jack," she quietly greets one of her oldest and dearest friends as she takes a seat beside him, "And don't yell at me. I am perfectly aware that I shouldn't be this old or have any idea of who you are yet."

"Rosie? Holy-is it really you?" he snatches her up in a fierce hug, "Not that I'm going to complain, but weren't you all badass blonde bombshell the last time I saw you? And where's the Doc? I've got a bone to pick with ole big ears."

"I'm in disguise," she twirls a lock of espresso brown hair around one finger, "As for the Doctor...I have no idea where or when he is. In my linear time we got...separated. I've spent a long time trying to get back to him. Had a streak of luck, but I ended up in the wrong time, too early, so now I have to wait for him to catch up. Been waitin' it out in Leadworth, spending time with a little girl who had the Tardis crash in her garden."

The former conman's chiseled face contorts with genuine worry, "But Rose, you'll age..."

"Not as much as you think old friend," her smile is sad as she takes his hand in both of her own, "What I did to you Jack, you will never know how sorry I am, but the power I used to bring you back, it changed me too. More than the Doctor ever suspected."

"How so?"

She shifts to face him head on, "How old do I look to you Jack? And don't worry about sparin' my feelings or feminine vanity, I want you to be completely honest with me."

"Alright then, let me see," he hums whilst turning her head this way and that, "In my expert opinion, I would say that you don't look a day over twenty five. But I'm guessing, from what you're saying, that I'm a little off the mark."

Rose's soft laugh is drown out by the enthusiastic pub goers and she fondly pats his cheek, "Tack on about a century or so and you would be very close. I actually stopped counting a while ago, so I'm not sure of my exact age."

"My gods Rose, what happened to you?" this is as close to panicked she has ever seen her friend.

"I am the Bad Wolf, I created myself," she states so low he can scarcely hear her declaration, "I wanted forever with the Doctor and now I age slow enough to have a chance at it...if I can ever find him. I can't tell you everything that's went on, since it is also your personal future. But all this time...Jack I need him."

"Come stay with me then Rosie. We can look for him together," the Captain offers, as desperate as she is to have a friend who understands the madness, "Life's been so messed up without you guys, but we can make it better, yeah?"

"I can't just up and move to Cardiff with you, as much as I'd like to," she forlornly objects, and is contrite the moment she notices the crestfallen look on his handsome face, "It's not what you think. That little girl I mentioned? There is a crack in her wall that even had the Doctor concerned. I can't explain it well, but it feels all wrong. I can see it, run my hands over it, but every piece of equipment I've scanned it with tells me it doesn't exist. Amy, that's her name, said the Doctor was going to fix it when he came back from stablizin' the Tardis. He's late though, as always, and it's been over a month. I'm guessin' he's either got more repairs than he first thought or he's mucked up the landing again. If-when he returns, she is who he will be lookin' for, I just know it."

"And you want to be close at hand to monitor the crack until he does, I get it," Jack correctly assumes and drapes an arm over her shoulder, "Okay, I'll help you when and where I can out of Cardiff then. Won't be the first-or the last- time I've had to slip my leash to get stuff done around here. Speaking of-"

"I can't help you wash your hands of them, it would mess up your personal timeline and could possibly cause several paradoxes in the process. I'm sorry, I know some of those people you work with are right bastards. The best I can do is lend a hand when you're workin' solo because they can't find out about me. Remember their motto. 'If it's alien, it's ours'. Jack, I'm not even sure if I qualify as human anymore. I can't take the risk."

He blows out a loud sigh of defeat but nods, "I understand. So...what am I like in the future? I know I have to look damn good, since it is me we're talking about. Come on, you can spill about the safe stuff, right?"

"You are every bit as bad as you are now, but with an improved fashion sense, bigger guns, and better friends," she tells hims, certain that the tidbit of knowledge won't disrupt anything, then stands, "But before I tell you an iota more, you are taking me to get somethin' to eat, I'm starvin'!"

"Whatever the lady commands," he flashes her his most disarming smile, then takes her hand and guides her down the sidewalk.

After finding a chippy and settling into their seats, Jack risks a question, "Does the-he know about what happened to me?"

She bobs her head ruefully, unable to look him in the eye, "You can't let him know anything I said here, but he panicked when he felt you come back to life. He was startin' to regenerate and had no idea what to do with you so instead he focused on tryin' to get me back to my mum."

"What do you mean by regenerate?" he inquires while sneaking a few of her vinegar soaked chips.

Rose takes a swift look around, making sure no one can overhear them before she leans forward, "Timelords have a way of cheatin' death. When they are dyin', they can basically scramble their cells, making them completely heal up any and all damage to their bodies. The downside is the body they have when it happens gets burned up and they transform."

"Transform?"

"They get a brand new body," she sighs and runs a hand though her dark tresses, "I can't really say much more about it because I don't know anything else. All I know is if they get hurt badly enough, they get a new face to go along with new quirks, new neuroses, and a bunch of other stuff. I've figured that's what made the Doctor's Tardis crash into Amy's garden in the first place, he regenerated again. What she described to me sounded a lot like what I saw him go through after what happened on Satellite Five."

"Do you know what he looks like now?" her friend's mouth curves into an impish grin, "Not that I minded those big blue eyes, rugged features or-"

"Oi! Put it back in your trousers Captain," Rose chuckles and smacks his arm, "Just wait until you see the next one. The big puppy dog eyes, that knicker droppin' smile, and oh my god the hair...some really great hair..."

She's brought out of her reverie by Jack wiping the corner of her mouth with a napkin, "Sorry, you had a bit of drool there. So is this sexy version of the Doc the one we're looking for or what?"

"No. From what Amy explained, he's got green eyes now, still sort of brown hair-bet he's grumpy 'cuz he's still not ginger-sorry, long story, she couldn't remember the finer details but it's enough to tell me that he is different from the last time I saw him," she can't hide the tears that bubble up and begin to fall, "I don't know how I'm gonna find him this time."

Jack watches her for a second, then moves so they are sitting side by side and hugs her to his side, "Don't worry Rose, we will find him. I promise."


	5. Chapter 5

I own no copyrighted material.

Time begins to pass, albeit at a halting crawl, but Rose does her best to split her focus between Leadworth and Cardiff. Meanwhile Amy, in her infinite exuberance for all things Timelord related, lands herself in therapy after her aunt overhears her babbling about the Doctor's multitude of adventures to Rory and Mels one too many times. She immediately starts begging Rose to help her weasel out of seeing the string of psychiatrists her aunt lines up, but the older woman is unable to lift a finger until Jack can secure her a new identity via Torchwood.

On the eve of Amy's twelfth birthday though, Rose knocks on the now familiar front door, clad in a pristine charcoal suit and a no nonsense hairstyle, then patiently waits for the door to open.

An older woman with a pinched expression answers, "Ah, Dr. Smith, right on time. It's a pity really, that most of your fellow practitioners lack your gift of punctuality. Come in."

"Thank you ma'am," Rose crisply replies while following the other woman into the sitting room, "Is Amelia ready to start our session? I only have two hours to see her today and I'd really like a chance for us to get to know one another a bit before I start delving into the problem."

"She'll be down in a tick. And call me Sharon," she says over her shoulder before stepping over to the foot of the stairs, "Amelia, your doctor is here for your appointment!"

"I don't need to see another one of your stupid psychiatrists! If anyone needs to have their head examined by a professional, it's you!" Amy yells in return even as she begins stomping down from her room, "I keep telling you, there is nothing wrong with me! Just because you don't like that I actually have an imagination, instead of being a dried up old prune like you, it doesn't make me defective. The last doctor even said so, till you threatened him! I know that's how you got him to say all of those horrible things to me the last time he was here!"

"Amelia Jessica Pond, you will do as you are told right this minute or I swear you will not set a toe out of this house again until I am no longer legally responsible for you and your lunacy!" her aunt bellows, her face flushing with barely contained fury as she points towards the sitting room, "Now get your arse in that room or I will drag you in there!"

"Fine," the girl huffs imperiously as she steps inside, then-not noticing a waiting Rose-slams the door in Sharon's face before she can follow her in and kicks it, "Ruddy tyrannical cow! Next time I ought to just bite you and save myself from more psychological torture!"

"That's no way to speak people Amelia Pond, they might think you're being rude," Rose sternly admonishes as Sharon's footsteps fade, but her grin destroys any illusion of severity. She is all too knowledgeable as to where her companion's hostility towards her less than tolerant aunt originates from. "I had heard you could be a proper spot of trouble. Good thing I've handled worse."

Amy squeaks and spins around, her braids whirling wildly, "Rose! What are you doing here?"

"Keep your voice down Pond," she smirks and pulls the girl away from the door, "You asked for my help and I figured this is the best way to do it...and shut her up...and get you to stop biting people. Especially since you already know I'll bite back."

"What about Beauty? Will she be alright with you spending even more time here?"

Rose gives a nod and gestures for Amy to join her on the sofa, "Jack has been spendin' more time with her when I leave her in Cardiff, so she's well acquainted with him, and he offered to keep an eye on her whilst we had our official sessions. She's got half a dozen rooms now and is too big to be totin' back and forth all the time anyways, so it's best she stays where she is for the mo'."

"When will she be ready for a test flight?" Amy's eagerness makes her voice tremble slightly, "Please tell me it's going to be soon."

"She'll be ready for some straightforward space flight any week now, but she won't be able to handle entering the time vortex for probably a few more years, " she glumly confesses, her gaze faraway for a second, then shakes her head, "Her outer hull isn't resilient enough to handle the battering she would get, knocking about in there. I want to find him as badly as you, but I won't chance hurtin' Beauty and I don't think you would want me to."

"But we still can start looking for him, right?" Rose hates how the yearning in the young girl's tone matches her own silent need, "He is an alien, so starting in space is a good idea."

"We can try, but Amy," she reaches out and clasps her hand, "Please try not to be too disappointed if we don't find him immediately. Beauty is young and inexperienced when it comes to all of this and I've only ever piloted a Tardis once on my own, so a few mistakes are going to be made while we sort everythin' out."

"I can't promise I won't be even a bit upset," she sighs and squeezes her friend's hand, "But I will promise that I won't be mad at you or Beauty if we don't find him the first couple of trips because I know both of you will be trying your hardest."

"Thank you. Now, let's pretend I am actually picking though that brilliant mind of yours to learn where this daft Raggedy Doctor of yours came from, then we'll start makin' excuses as to why you still have an imaginary friend at your age."

They collude for a bit, then Amy's attention wanders into unknown territory, "Rose, is Jack your boyfriend?"

"God no," the brunette chortles, then leans back on the couch, tucking one leg under the other as she does, "Jack Harkness is a very old friend of mine-and the Doctor's. Maybe if I had met him instead of the Doctor, then somethin' might have happened. But as it stands, he is more like an immature older brother or a rambunctious best mate to me rather than anythin' romantic. Why? Does Miss Pond have her eye on the handsome Captain? I ought to warn you though, he is a notorious be-erm-flirt. And, for the record, he is too old for you."

The girl blushes, but shakes her head, "First off, ewwww. He's old! Second, it's okay to say he's a randy bloke. You should hear my aunt gossip with all her friends on the phone about people, that's how I learned what grown ups get up to when there aren't any kids around. Once, she whined for an hour that she couldn't go out and get her-"

"Okay, new subject!" Rose yelps, not wanting to know just exactly how that particular sentence was going to end, "So, is there anyone you like? You know you can talk to me about stuff like that and I'm not gonna yell at you for it."

"Not really. They're all stupid and most of them don't even like books! Rory is the only boy I know who likes to read or anything," Amy blows out a frustrated sigh and drops her chin into her upturned palm, "Mels is boy crazy though. Every week there's a new bloke she's wanting to kiss, but they're all scared of her because a boy tried to kiss her once last year and she gave him a bloody nose. Then he went and fainted when he saw the blood and everyone was laughing at him when he came back to school..."

When their two hour session is finished, Amy's aunt seems genuinely surprised when Rose leaves the house with no marks upon her person and promises to be prompt for Amelia's next session.

The moment Rose is out of the shower and dressed, she picks up the phone and dials her friend's number, "Jack, you owe me ten quid! I told you she was gonna ask me if you were my boyfriend on the day she met you an' I was right! Serious though, call me when you get this message, I have an idea about that converter you were askin' me about-""


	6. Chapter 6

I own no copyrighted material.

Reminder, this is unbeta'd so any spelling/grammar mistakes are all mine.

In late 1999 Rose tells Amy that the Doctor is somewhere in America, but Beauty's maiden flight-the constant stream of artron energy having accelerated her growth a thousandfold, just like Doctor Donna had predicted-does not go as planned and by the time the young Tardis is able to lock onto the Timelord's coordinates, he is gone.

"We just missed him," Amy grouses while watching her friend flip levers and meddle with controls.

"It wasn't our Doctor anyways, as much as we would've liked it to be. That Doctor...we were too early and he wouldn't have recognized us," Rose tells her, sharing the younger woman's sadness and frustration, "I'm fairly sure that was his eight self, if what's in my head is accurate. I should have checked my memories first, I'm sorry. Either way, we are going to have to start laying low soon, we can't risk Beauty being detected."

"Why now?"

The haunted look bleeding into Rose's expression reminds Amy a little of the Doctor, "The Time War is about to begin. All of the Time lords will be recalled to Gallifrey shortly, including our Doctor."

She's never spoken about this with Amy, so the ginger girl is understandably confused, "What happened with this Time War?"

"His memories of the war are all murky because he never wanted to remember it, but he couldn't forget either," she puts her hand to her temples, trying to massage away the pains which warn her she is trying to delve to deep, "I can't get a clear view of any particular thing, but that's not the point. The point is it is going to get bad for the Doctor and we can't do anything to alter his personal future, no matter what."

"What are we supposed to do then? Sit on our arses?" Amy growls and throws herself into one of the new jump seats, "We can't do nothing Rose, he needs our help!"

"No. We aren't going to do nothin'. You are going to finish school, keep bossin' Rory around, and make plans for the future that don't involve hurtlin' through time and space while I help keep the earth from bein' overthrown by crazy aliens," it takes some effort but she rearranges her features into what she hopes is a reassuring smile, "Now go change into your party clothes so I can drop you off at Rory's New Year's party. You did promise you would make an appearance an' I'm holding you to it because god knows he never would."

Amy grumbles something that resembles, "Don't know what you're talking about," but does as instructed.

Thirty minutes later, Amy saunters out, hair pinned up in a messy bun and dressed in a pale gold pinafore. Rose internally slumps with relief. She had been fretting about the blossoming girl donning something decidedly not age appropriate. "You look beautiful sweetheart. Sit down and I'll do your make up."

A dab of sparkly pink eye shadow, a touch of pale blush, and a hint of lip gloss later, Rose declares Amy fit for a night out. Amy gleefully dashes for the door, but abruptly spins around and hugs her friend, "Thank you Rose. Helping me get ready...it almost felt like having a mum."

Rose lets out a soft gasp and squeezes the younger girl once before releasing her, "Go have fun Amelia Pond."

Amy beams at her, then scurries out of the Tardis.

Wiping an errant tear away, Rose discreetly lands Beauty in Cardiff to recharge because the unscheduled jaunt around the world had taken a lot out of the young ship. As she steps out to greet Jack, she has a smile on her face despite the bad news she carries.

What she finds is the remains of a massacre and a lone figure standing amongst the carnage. "Oh my god Jack! What happened?"

"Oh, you're here. I'm guessing you didn't find him then," he says conversationally, then stumbles and falls to his knees, alerting Rose to the awful shape he is actually in.

She runs to his slumped figure and tries to haul him to his feet, but instead he buries his face in her shoulder. "There was a bomb...my team...Rosie, they're all dead..."

"Oh Jack," she sighs and does her best to comfort him as he begins to sob into her jumper.

Eventually she convinces him to move into one of the less damaged areas so she can tend to his wounds. Jack seems disconnected from the world until his hand shoots out and grabs her wrist, "It's starting, isn't it? The Time War. I can feel something in my peripheral, but I can't seem to keep a hold of it."

She kisses his forehead and wraps her arms around his shoulders, "Yeah it is. And I'm so, so sorry, because there isn't anything we can do about it."


	7. Chapter 7

I own no copyrighted material.

"What was I thinkin'?" Roses mumbles under her breath as Amelia, Rory, Mels, and Jack scramble out of the truck while chattering about the festivities Cardiff is hosting for Bonfire Night, "Must be going barmy, agreein' to all this."

"Aww, it will be okay Rosie," the Captain guffaws upon seeing the look of dread on her face, "It's not like there is a lot of trouble for them to find here, so relax and enjoy yourself."

Her dark eyes sweep over the crowd of people already carousing, then fall to the quartet of faces awaiting her decision, "Alright, we'll stay. But," she slowly points at each of them, "First arrest, first tiff, first anything that you already know you're not supposed to get caught doin' and we're gone 'cuz if your parents ever find out I played a major role in the corruption of minors, I would be lynched. That goes double for you Jack. Everyone clear on that?"

"Yes ma'am!" they chorus before collectively grabbing her and pulling her towards the festivities.

"Toffee apples!" Rory points out a vendor's stall while Mels lets go of Amy and skips towards another booth, "Parkin!"

Finally Rose rolls her eyes at the ginger girl who stays close in spite of her obvious desire to run after her friends and gestures towards another vendor before she shoves a few notes into Amy's hand, "Oi, go get some mulled wine for yourself and the others before they put themselves into a sugar coma. Non-alcoholic, mind you. Also, try to eat somethin' while you're runnin' about, it's a long time till dinner at Jack's. Tell Mels and Rory the same thing. And keep your mobile on, in case I need to call you."

Understanding now what Rose is permitting, Amy gives her a crushing hug, "Thank you! I promise we'll stay out of trouble!"

After she darts off, Jack loops her arm through his as they walk, "What's going on in that beautiful head of yours? Five minutes ago you were scared to death for them to leave your sight, now you are sending them on errands?"

"Did you notice them hoodies hangin' around back in that alley we just passed?" he bobs his head, "A scanner in my pocket detected some alien tech in that direction when we walked passed. I think we might need to take a second look to make sure they aren't up to anythin' that's gonna get innocent people hurt."

"I'll do it," he says and gives her a hug so she can covertly slip the device into his pocket without anyone noticing, "Be back in a jiffy. Just in case though, you do have you phone right?"

She waves her mobile so only he can see it, as it is a model from the other universe and never had a duplicate in this one, "Never leave home without it. You've got ten minutes to come back or call, then I'm coming to look for you."

"As the lady commands," he salutes her, then takes off at a trot, his long jacket flapping in the chilly breeze.

With her improved sense of time, there is no feasible reason for her to keep checking her watch. She does so anyway, her teeth worrying at her bottom lip the entire time. Ten minutes tick by with no word from Jack, but she gives him another five because she is well acquainted with his terrible timing. When he still fails to show or message, she resolves to go after him.

Rose backtracks to the alleyway and discovers it empty save for a few rubbish bins. Careful not to make any noise, she pads through the area, scanning left and right for any signs of the missing Captain. The back of the alley opens up in two directions, so she pulls her sonic out and scans the area. It beeps madly towards the right, so she walks that way for a while, then takes a left...and nearly steps on the outstretched hand of an unconscious Jack Harkness.

She drips to her knees, searching for a pulse, and breathes a sigh of relief when she finds his strong and steady. A burn mark on the side of his neck is indicative to a taser or something akin to it. "Come one, wakey wakey," she coos, gently tapping his cheek, "Jack, can you hear me?"

He doesn't respond and she hurriedly goes through her options before pulling out her phone and dialing Amy's phone. It only rings twice before being answered by a giggling ginger, "What's up Rose?"

"Amy, I need you to follow these directions," Rose rattles of the route she'd walked, "I just found Jack knocked out, I think someone hit him with a taser and I need your help to carry him back to the truck."

"Do you want me to bring Rory and Mels? They're waiting to buy sparklers right now but I can get them quick if you need me to."

"No need, it shouldn't take us too long to drag him back," she retorts just as her friend's head begins to wobble in her lap, "He's startin' to come around anyways. Jack, what in the bloody hell did you get yourself into?"

"You were right about them being aliens," he groans, holding his head as he sits up, "Bunch of kids, running around Cardiff while their parents are distracted. We are going to have to find them before they get themselves into serious trouble."

He pauses as they hear the echo of footsteps grow louder, then give way to a flushed Amelia Pond, "Are you okay Jack? How did you manage to get tasered?"

"Honestly, I think I scared them when I showed up and they panicked," he confesses and-after a glance to Rose, who nods-pulls out the scanner, "They can't be far, unless they have access to some mode of transportation. Got them!"

He takes off at a run, leaving the two women scurrying to keep up. Amy veers close to her friend as they jog through the alleyways, "Are these the good kind or bad kind?"

"The good kind, just a bunch of kids out havin' a good time. 'Least that's what he told me," the brunette answers, eyes shifting between the former conman and her sonic, "We just need to make sure they don't get into trouble with the locals more than anythin'."

"This is how I imagined life with the Doctor would be," the younger woman wistfully admits, her smile broadening when Rose nods in agreement, "I'm going to have to get better shoes then."

"Lots of trainers. And socks! You would not believe how many socks I had that didn't have a mate because the Doctor needed one of them to fix a machine or make a substitute filter or somethin'," she chuckles as a memory strikes her, "Though there was this one time I had to sacrifice my new bra so he could transport these two egg-"

She's cut off by someone crashing into her, sending them both sprawling. She rolls back to her feet, prepared for another attack, only to see Mels with a thunderous scowl plastered on her face. "Mels?"

"Where did the stupid tosser go?" the sassy teen snarls while Rose helps her to her feet, "He stole my bloody purse! I'm going to make him wish he'd never been born!"

"Some bloke lifted it while we was waiting on Amy," Rory explains as Mels digs into her vast well of swear words, "We chased him down an alley, but I think we've gotten turned around a bit. Umm, where is Jack?"

"That way," Rose gestures while pocketing her sonic, "He's probably chasing the same hoodies. One of them tasered him and I think robbed him too."

"Let's go then!" Mels roars and hustles after the Captain, leaving her companions to take up the chase once more.

"This is not how I had planned for this day to go," Rory declares just as Mels and Jack come back into sight, "Not the fun part, I meant the running after wankers."

"Oh, what did you have planned?" Amy teases, making the young man furiously blush.

He opts not to answer, instead he shifts his focus to Jack, "Did you find them? They might be the same people who lifted Mels' purse."

In response, the older man raises a hand which holds the young woman's now empty blue wallet, "Is this it? I'm afraid they took the money though."

"Wha-bugger all, that was everything I had," Mels sighs, taking the object and stuffing it into her back pocket, "Guess I won't be buying sparklers after all. Did you find yours?"

"Don't worry about that," Rose is already fishing out a handful of tenners and hands them over, "That should hold you over for now. I'll hit up a cashpoint to replace how much else you lost. I'll be damned if I let some idiot hoodies ruin today."

"Thanks Rose," the girl says, a hint of genuine gratitude peeking through her tough girl facade, "I'll pay you back someday, I swear."

"Like I said before, don't worry about it. You three just focus on enjoyin' yourselves," she smiles and waves them off, "I'm gonna help Jack search around here for his wallet, we'll catch up in a mo'."

After the trio is out of sight, Jack walks over to a skip and throws open the lid, revealing five extremely terrified young aliens, "Alright kids, now it's time to take you back to mum and dad."


	8. Chapter 8

I own no copyrighted material.

"Did you see the news?" Amy inquires, pushing away her homework, "A shop down in London burned to the ground last night. A place called Henry's or He-"

"Henrik's," Rose absently corrects, then lets loose a string of soft swear words after she accidentally burns her finger with the soldering iron, "That means we are finally getting somewhere-or rather-some when."

"Could you translate into proper English for the non-time travelling people in the room?"

She sighs and turns away from the circuit board she'd been working on all afternoon, "The first time I met the Doctor, he blew up my job. That job was at Henrik's. That is part of the reason I've wanted to keep you close the last few days, I knew what was coming. The Nestene Consciousness. It's a sort of living plastic who wanted our world for food. I was hoping their transmission wouldn't reach this far out of London-and I was right-but I refused to leave you unprotected in case I'd miscalculated."

Amy leaps to her feet, toeing on her shoes while she ties her hair back, "Why are we sitting here then? We have to find the Doctor and see what we can do to help!"

"No, we're stayin' here because the problem has already been taken care of. Or will be, in a day or so," Rose assures her young friend, "Jack has been covertly helpin' the younger me find where I need to go, it's the best we can do until that me leaves with the Doctor."

The ginger girl looks at her warily, "Why is that?"

"Because when we leave, he and I will be gone for twelve months," she sadly reveals, remembering what her mother had put Mickey through during her absence.

"Where did you swan off to for an entire year? One of those resort planets you told me about?" Amelia's tone turns suggestive as she grins at the other woman.

Rose shrugs a shoulder, "He took me to the end of the world where we had to stop a bitchy trampoline from killin' everyone, then we met Charles Dickens and had to stop an alien invasion. When the Doctor brought me home, of course he mucked up the landing and instead of being gone twelve hours, I was gone for a year. My mum thought my boyfriend had killed me...she actually smacked the Doctor for keeping me away for so long. Anyways, it's not like you haven't learned our Doctor has a long history of bein' a terrible driver."

The girl throws herself back on the couch with a melodramatic groan, "I hate waiting. I swear your mum isn't going to be the only woman to smack him for being late..."

Her lips curve into a melancholy smile as Amy returns to her work, loudly inventing new forms of abuse for their absent Timelord all the while.

When things quiet down for the evening, Rose moves from her workbench to the kitchen area and starts making dinner. Amy eventually wanders in to lend a hand, forcing her to head off another round of Doctor bashing, "So how are things going between you and Rory now that you've finally realized he has been shamelessly in love with you for most of your lives?"

"Fine. Great really. He's been telling me how he wants to become a nurse, says he's been patching Mels and me up for so long it seems like the natural thing to do," Rose can't help but smile as Amy's gaze turns wistful, like it always does nowadays when talking about her best friend turned boyfriend, "We haven't even got our A levels yet and he's yammering on about which hospitals he would like to work at."

"At least he is making plans for the future, something you ought to be doing a bit more of yourself. Get the chicken out of the fridge and chop it up, I'll toss it in with these veggies to reheat it."

Amy follows her instructions with a huff, "Why make long term plans like that when I know I'm going to be travelling with you or the Doctor?"

"Because you need something to fall back on if you ever get stranded, like I did," Rose grimaces at the memories but presses on, "You cannot just sit back and do nothin' while you wait for someone to come along and save you. You have to-"

"Save myself. I know," the ginger girl finishes with a pained groan, "I just...I want to be able to do the stuff you do. Make gadgets, chase aliens, you know, the fun stuff. I can't do that if I'm tied down, studying to be a history professor or some rubbish."

"Who says you can't? You are only limited by what you think your boundaries are Amelia Pond," she pauses until Amy pours the chicken into the pan, "I don't say these things to make you lose hope, but do you really just want to be a pretty face with damsel in distress syndrome when the Doctor finally takes you on a trip? Or would you rather be a companion he can trust to take care of herself when things get sticky?"

"I refuse to be a burden," Amy growls, then is quiet for a few minutes before adding, "Maybe I really should study to become a history professor, then work from there. Or maybe literature...ooh, what about a mechanic? I could help him work on the Tardis..."

Her enthusiastic ideas, from the practical to the ridiculous, stretch on all through dinner.


	9. Chapter 9

I own no copyrighted material.

"I'll be perfectly fine Amy," Rose says for probably the hundredth time in the last hour, "You and Rory have a nice romantic holiday together. Me and Beauty will still be here when you come home."

"You'll call me if he comes back?" Amy's question makes her sigh into the phone, "Or if you hear from Mels? I know she said she was going to Greece, but I can't help but worry she'll get herself arrested."

"Of course I will, cross my heart," she reassures the younger woman, "Now stop lollygagging and go have fun."

After ringing off, she picks up her trusty rucksack, takes one final look around the garage to ensure she hasn't forgotten anything, then heads out the door to meet Jack.

"So, fake alien contact in London, cooked up by the Slitheen, who are real aliens?" the former conman impishly smirks after she climbs into the black Land Rover, "This definitely sounds like it's going to be a fun day. And don't roll your eyes at me, I know for a fact you are just as eager about this little adventure as I am."

"Yeah, I am," she doesn't bother trying to hide her own eager grin, "We just have to make sure we don't get noticed by the Doctor, or myself."

"Hey, I've done a pretty good job so far, haven't I? Have a little faith in me and my team Rosie," he chuckles as they veer through the morning traffic at a breakneck speed, "I've already got Owen on deck for the inevitable medical examination and Tosh is manning the Hub with Suzie too keep us a safe distance from Doc and the other you. We've got every angle covered this time. Even have a fully baked plan."

She lets out a quiet laugh while fitting on her earpiece, "Fine, Let's hear this plan of yours."

As he begins mapping things out step by step, she relaxes into the leather seat and only interrupts on occasion in order to make a correction about when and where the Timelord and her younger self should be at during the day.

Lending their silent aid turns out to be significantly less problematic than she first thought, other than Toshiko having to take Owen's place for the exam and receiving a few bumps and bruises for her efforts. She almost feels sorry for the absent physician upon hearing what Jack has planned for him. Almost.

It is hard to back down after the building collapses though, especially having the foreknowledge that one of the Slitheen-Blon-survived the blast, but she reminds herself that the timelines must stay intact if she ever hopes to see her Doctor again.

"Why the long face? We just helped save the day, something we've done a hundred times and it's yet to get old, you ought to be smiling!" Jack happily crows as they are speeding back to the Hub.

"I saw him today. Leather jacket, those piercing blue eyes, and he had this big manic grin plastered to his face as he went runnin' down the hall. Forgot everythin' I was supposed to be doin' for a mo' and damn near went tearin' after him," Rose bangs her head on the seat, "This is so damn frustratin', waitin' on him to catch up with me. It's been over a century an' I'm still hardwired to chase him whenever I hear the word run come outta his mouth."

"Trust me, I completely understand where you're coming from. I've been waiting since 1869 to find a version of the Doctor that coincides with my timeline," he morosely replies, instantly filling her with guilt for complaining, "But we're almost there Rosie, I can feel it."

"Sorry Jack, I didn't mean to start soundin' all maudlin, 'specially since you have been through so much more than me and you're still goin' strong," she blows out a loud breath and picks at some invisible lint on her trouser leg, "I wish I could be as strong as you, because then I might have the strength to finally stop bein' afraid all the time that I'll never find the right Doctor."

"Oh Rose, you've only seen me on my better days and you have no idea how glad I am for that. Now let me remedy something before it gets out of control," he reaches over and takes her hand, "Just because your impatience gets the better of you some days, it does not mean you are weak in any way. It simply means you still have feelings, which is a very good thing. It's when you stop having them that it's time to really start worrying."

"What would I do without you?" she flashes him a watery smile.

"You'll never have to find out," he solemnly promises her before his visage turns ornery once more, "Though you'd certainly have less to fantasize about on those long, cold nights. Maybe I could have Owen fill in for-Oww! Stop hitting me! It was a joke! Oww! Rosie, you're not supposed to mutilate the driver while the vehicle is mov-Oww! Dammit woman!"


	10. Chapter 10

I own no copyrighted material.

"Jack make sure no one is behind schedule," Rose barks into her mobile while she and Amy are emptying the contents of the garage into Beauty, "Yes, bring the hand, we can't risk it being sucked in. Yep. See you then. Ta."

"Will Rory and Mels be okay?" Amy finally asks, still unsure of who or what has Rose spooked enough to pack everything into the young Tardis.

"Jack and the others are gonna be bringin' them here. I'm sorry but they'll have to be retconned afterwards so they won't remember anythin' that happens the next few days," she scoots a box into the corner and blows her bangs out of her eyes before swiveling around to face the ginger woman, "I am doing everything in my power to keep all of you safe."

"Will the ghosts be able to get in here?"

"No they won't. Beauty is a multidimensional being so it would be extremely difficult for them to breach her hull. That is one of the many reasons why I want everyone safe inside of her before the screaming and the panicking starts," she pauses to glare at her hands-the same limbs which have never been strong enough to keep hold of anything-then briefly clenches them into fists before forcing herself to resume packing, "I'm not losing any of you. Not this time."

Her young companion can't ignore how the older woman trembles, "What's going to happen Rose?"

"Today is the day the Doctor saves the world," she quietly proclaims and dumps an armful of gear onto the control room floor, "And today is the day I die, at least in this world."

Amy doesn't prod further, seeing the tears welling up in her friend's eyes. This is a day she had been dreading ever since Rose explained how she had ended up living in a parallel dimension.

The silence is only broken when Rose moves Beauty to Amy's garden, where the Torchwood team is unloading a huge pile of gear...and guarding an unconscious Rory Williams.

"We couldn't find Mels," Jack apologizes as he sweeps into the ship with the first load of supplies, "We are going to have to hope she's out of range of this when it goes down."

"Yeah, can't be helped now. Owen, put Rory in Amy's room. Amy, keep an eye on your boyfriend while I sort out this lot," Rose expertly instructs while she and Suzie engage a compression field to fit the trucks through Beauty's front doors, "Tosh, make sure those crates are secured to the struts, this is bound to get a bit bumpy and I don't want anyone gettin' run over by this equipment."

"Rose, we're out of time," Jack calls out as he runs in again, this time slamming the doors tight behind him, "The ghost shift is about to start!"

"Alright everyone, stay away from those doors until I tell you otherwise," the brunette commands, running to the controls, "Now grab hold of something and hang on tight!"

Half the ships occupants scream and are knocked sideways as Beauty hurls herself into the time vortex for the first time.

"Come on sweetheart," Rose coaxes, dancing around the console madly in an attempt to guide the young ship, "I know you can do this. Amy hit the dampeners! No, the one with the green lights! Jack, see that lever? Flip it in three, two, now!"

""Suzie's fainted!" Tosh squeaks just after Beauty lurches sideways with a ear piercing keen.

"Too late to move her, just make sure she stays tied to the railing," Jack tells her while rushing to obey Rose's rapid fire commands, "Amy, did you get Rory strapped in?"

"Yeah, though I don't know how long that sedative of yours is going to work on him," she pauses to hastily type something, "We're almost there!"

For a moment the sound from outside swells to overwhelming levels, then Beauty jerks a final time and suddenly everything is still.

Everyone starts cheering save Amy, who runs to check on her boyfriend, while Rose smiles and softly strokes the console, "Good girl. You did fantastic!"

"How did you manage this one?" Jack asks once Owen deems Suzie free of any injuries, "I thought she wouldn't be ready for the time vortex for a long time still."

"I had to wait for her eye to open," Rose gives as vague of an answer as possible before whirling away from the controls, "Alright ladies and gents, blokes and birds, and anythin' in between. We are officially shielded inside of the time vortex and will continue to be so for the next two linear days. We have a fully stocked kitchen, working loos, plenty of bedrooms, and a completely functional entertainment room. I know how confusin' this must be for all of you but-" her speech is interrupted by a very girlish screech of terror, "And that would be Rory wakin' up on a strange space ship. Anywho, rest, relax, and enjoy the relative quiet the best you can while you are able."

Hours later, after Rose explains the truth of the ghosts and the invasion of daleks, no one is happy.

"So why are we hiding? Whatever is going on, we could be making a difference out there!" Suzie spits, holding her still aching head as she stands to tower over Rose, "If we're in here, that has to mean people are dying out there."

"You think I don't know that?" the woman's voice is a low growl, her eyes taking on a subtle golden glow as she points towards the outer doors, "I am out there right now, living the nightmare! Daleks and Cybermen are butcherin' innocent people in the streets, in their homes! If you sincerely think I want to be sittin' here, doin' nothin' but listen to you throw a tantrum while a battle for our planet it going on then you have know idea who I am after all."

"Then why aren't we doing something?" Suzie presses even as she takes a step back.

"Because the bad guys never stay down for long and I had to make sure some of the good guys were still around to fight them while the world recovers from this," Rose's gaze flits to Jack, who has taken her hand, then moves to the monitors, "Now please get the hell outta my face before I forget I'm a good person and toss you off of my ship."

"You wouldn't," the other woman snorts in derision, "What about all those rules you live by? And what would your Doctor say?"

The light flares in Rose's eyes and her gaze is predatory as she stares Suzie down, "In case you've forgotten, the Doctor isn't here, so today is not the day to find out why I have so many rules Suzie Costello."

"Suzie, go annoy Owen for a bit," Jack doesn't even attempt an innocuous intervention while he shifts to stand between his teammate and his dearest friend. After she gives him a curt nod and retreats, he turns around to Rose, "Time to calm down Rosie, your big bad wolf is showing again. Come have a cuppa and a sit down with me, Beauty will be fine for now and we both know that."

"I really don't like that woman Jack," Rose huffs but allows him to pull her away from the console, "Something about her just makes my skin crawl. Beauty can feel it too, so it's not just me bein' paranoid."

"I'll keep an eye on her," he vows as they stroll deeper into the ship.


	11. Chapter 11

I own no copyrighted material.

-A/N This chapter and the next are very short, so I will be posting them (hopefully) within a few minutes of each other.

~Sorry for any multiple uploads, FF is being an arse

Rose ducks under some sparking wires that are dangling from the ceiling as she moves around the console room, surveying the damage, "I don't think she will be taking us anywhere for a while."

"Poor girl," Jack affectionately caresses one of the coral struts while strolling up the ramp, "But she did good. Kept us safe and shielded from all of the nasties that were flying around out there."

"All of the damage she took though, this has no doubt set her growth back by years, probably decades," Rose states, her tone full of remorse, "I knew she was too young to be enterin' the vortex."

"Why did you make her do it then?"

She stops to tamp down a piece of loose flooring, "It was her idea. I couldn't really argue with her over it because it was the best way to ensure none of us got pulled through into Pete's world..or worse, lost in the Void. By the way, it's about time for you to start looking for him with your secret 'Doctor Detector'."

"His memories again?" her friend quirks an eyebrow at her as he holds out a tool kit.

She nods and takes the kit, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you what is coming next but-"

Jack pulls her into a hug, "Don't be sorry Rosie. I learned a long time ago that knowing your personal future isn't all it's cracked up to be. Besides, I love surprises, especially when they come in hunky Doctor shaped packages."

She laughs at his outrageous eyebrow waggle and hugs herself to him one more time before stepping back, "Have fun Jack and I will see you again as soon as it's safe to come. Remember though, you have to ask him about me when you find him or he will get suspicious. It's going to hurt him, but we can't afford an accidental paradox."

He bobs his head in somber understanding, then flashes her his orneriest grin, "So what will the lovely Rose Tyler be doing in the meantime? Please tell me it involves bikinis,chocolate syrup, and that heavenly couple from the coffee shop."

"Shush you. I'll most likely be helping Amy and Rory get through Uni, bail Mels out of jail when she needs it, and build stuff I know we are goin' to need," she shrugs a shoulder before diving spanner first into an open section of grating, "The usual stuff. Might cut back on the alien hunting though so I don't draw attention to myself. Best left to your very capable crew, even if I want to smother Suzie every time I see her face..."

"I didn't know the words 'low profile' were still in your vocabulary since meeting the Doctor," her friend smirks as he reaches the doors, then grows serious, "Promise me you'll take care of yourself Rose. I love you kiddo, I'd hate to lose you after I've put so much effort into keeping you alive."

"Oi! I'm not that young anymore!" her head pops out of the hole and she salutes the Captain with the spanner, "I promise. And I love you too Jack."


	12. Chapter 12

I own no copyrighted material.

Reminder: This is unbeta'd so any spelling/grammar mistakes are mine alone.

~Sorry for any multiple uploads, FF is being an arse

"Do you remember any of it?" Jack's voice is weary and ragged as his head sags against her waiting shoulder, "Martha? The year that never was? Harold Saxon?"

She knows he would never want her to lie to him, no matter how much it would be to avoid hurting him, so with a tired sigh she simply nods, "Every minute of it. I helped where I could, but there was only so much...I wish I...I have bits and pieces of the Doctor's side of it too. It cut him so deeply, what happened to you, to Martha and her family...that the Master refused to regenerate. But with the reversal of time, it has set the clock ticking too."

He lifts his head to aim an inquisitive look at her, "Oh?"

She nods towards the night sky, stretching out over Cardiff Bay, "Yeah. The stars are goin' to start disappearin' now. No one's gonna notice at first, not even the Doctor."

"I know you can't tell me why, but is there anything I can do to help?"

She vainly swallows back the tears threatening to escape and hugs him, "Make sure your team knows you're proud of them and keep the rift manipulator in top shape. And I'm sorry for what's going to happen Jack, I-"

"Hey, enough of that," he gently chides, tucking her head against his chest now, "You apologize so damn much, I swear you sound just like him sometimes. When you're spewing technobabble it's cute, but you've got to stop saying you're sorry for everything that goes wrong in the universe."

"I can't help it," she sniffles and snuggles closer to her dear friend, "So many bad things are on the horizon and I know I have to let them happen. I understand him so much better now, why he says and does things the way he does...why he left me behind...I can't even be mad at him for it anymore, not after the choices I've had to make myself."

"You and me both," he murmurs and holds her close as the sun begins to rise behind them.


	13. Chapter 13

I own no copyrighted material.

~A/N-Another short one, sorry. Same deal as last time though, I will be posting two chapters today because of the length issue.

"But where are you going?" Amy whines, trailing after the older brunette who is whizzing about the innards of the young Tardis like a woman possessed, "And more importantly, why can't I come with you? I'm getting tired of you swanning off without me all the time, you know."

Rose pauses midstep and whirls around to face the weeping Scottish girl, "Amy the wrong Doctor almost caught me during the stuff with the ATMOS. It's getting harder and harder to keep track of exactly when and where he is going to be with everythin' else I'm doin'. Besides, Beauty needs more repairs and I can only do them in the vortex because the Doctor would definitely recognize the energy signatures she will be giving off. If it's the wrong Doctor..."

"I get it," Amy huffs, waving away the argument, "You don't want to accidentally bring the wrong version of him to my door. Or yours. Paradoxes and all that. Can you at least give me a relative guess on how long you'll be gone?"

"Should only be a few weeks this time, I hope," she ruefully admits, wincing when her young friend growls her unhappiness, "I'm sorry, if there was another way, you know I'd do it in a heartbeat."

Amy slumps against the console and absently touches a few blinking lights, "I just hate being left behind. Again. And it's not like I can go visit Jack right now, he's still acting pretty off ever since the whole Adam situation went down."

"Maybe you could finally stop draggin' your feet and find yourself a job for the summer," Rose offers, trying and failing to suppress her guilt about leaving the girl on her own once more, "And maybe when I get back we will have a girls only weekend? It's been a long time since we've had one. You could invite Mels to come with us too, that is if she's answerin' her phone this month."

The ginger girl instantly perks up at the tantalizing offer, "Could we go to Rio for Carnival? I'm old enough to go now."

Rose mulls it over for a moment before shrugging, "I'll agree to Rio, but I need to think about Carnival a bit longer, only because I'm going to have to dig through the Doctor's memories to see if he's went there in recent years. I will have an answer for you when I come back, I promise. Now, come give me a hug so I can get movin'."

Amy happily complies with the request, squeezing the other woman within an inch of her life before flitting out of Beauty with a wave and a warning to be careful thrown over her shoulder.

Rose waits several minutes to make sure Amy hasn't forgotten something, then launches Beauty into the vortex before picking up the phone and calling Jack. "What do you mean Owen is up and walking around? I told you not to use that stupid gauntlet! Didn't you learn anything from Suzie and her insanity?!"


	14. Chapter 14

I own no copyrighted material.

~A/N-As promised, the second chapter of the day.

Rose dutifully maintains a low profile until after the planets are stolen and returned to their proper places, then she abruptly abandons her self imposed exile to begin searching for her Timelord in earnest.

She begins by searching the globe, then moves on to traversing the cosmos when-in spite of using his memories as a compass-it yields no results. More than once Beauty alerts her to the presence of another Tardis in their relative vicinity, but each time they go spiraling after the signal, they arrive too late to determine whether it was even the right Doctor they had been chasing.

One particularly dispiriting evening though, after a near miss with his fourth self and Sarah Jane, she receives a frantic call from Amy who explains that something else had escaped through the crack in her wall. But this isn't the true reason she is absolutely vibrating with emotion. No, the real reason Rose can almost feel the girl bouncing is because the day they both have been waiting for has arrived.

Their Doctor has returned.

In a flash, she pulls Beauty out of the vortex and sets the coordinates for Amy's house, fear and exhilaration fueling her manic ripples of laughter as she races around the console.

It takes only moments before the landing sequence initiates, then Beauty suddenly rocks sideways and throws herself in a new direction.

"What are you doin' girl?" Rose yelps, fighting to stay upright to scan the monitors for trouble as the young ship hurtles through time and space, "What's wrong? I can't see anythin'!"

The klaxon blares, sparks fly and Beauty starts to sound like she is going to fly apart...

Then everything stops.

Rose flings herself down the ramp and throws the doors wide, gasping as she spots the reason Beauty had taken off like she had. Outside a man is floating weightlessly, his fingers barely clutching the light which is wildly flickering atop a battered and very familiar police box.

"Doctor!" she screams before she can stop herself, then rushes to gather up as many coils of cable as she can get her hands on. Hastily she ties several to a strut, then cinches one around her waist and shoulders the others. By chance she sees a fire extinguisher and grabs it before making a running leap into the void separating the two vessels.

The freezing cold of open space shocks her senses once she leaves the safety of the atmospheric shell, but she pushes the pain away, her entire focus intent on reaching the flailing figure in front of her. He, of course, doesn't notice the petite woman racing towards him until she invades his ships bubble and collides with the box.

"Who-Rose?"

"Thought you might need a hand gettin' back inside," she flashes a mad grin at the man whose face belongs to a stranger but whose eyes are anything but, "Or have you suddenly decided to take up Tardis surfing?"

He gawks at her, dumbfounded, for a few seconds before nodding, "Having a bit of trouble calibrating the stabilizers. There was some toxic gas seeping from the engines, thought I'd air her out a bit. Didn't count on her getting the hiccups though."

"When will you ever learn to start using tethers?" she shakes her head as she climbs to the top of the box, lassos one cable around it, then uses another to secure the Timelord to her before he has a chance to protest, "Come on then, we can wait in my Tardis until yours gives us the all clear."

"Good idea," he surmises while getting his feet under him, "Is he waiting over-"

"No. He's not...around anymore. Passed away a long time ago," she quickly explains before aiming the extinguisher behind them and pulling the pin, "Jump!"

Together they soar out of the bubble and use the gadget to propel themselves towards the other ship. Unfortunately they build up a bit too much momentum and crash into the ramp in a giggling heap of arms and legs.

Once they almost have control of their faculties again, the Doctor impulsively cups one of her flushed cheeks and gives her a radiant smile, "Look at you. Come crashing in heart first instead of head first to save me yet again, just like old times. Rose Tyler, ever my savior, you will never cease to amaze me."

"Doctor," she murmurs and throws her arms around him with a cry, "I've found you."

Had it been any other person in the universe, he most likely would have fled for his lives in the face of her reaction. But this wasn't just anyone nor was it any ordinary circumstance. This was a dream come true, especially seeing that his new body had been born missing his brave, beautiful, pink and yellow human. So instead of pushing her away to a safe distance, he gives in to his most secret of urges and pulls her even closer, then buries his face in her hair to hide his own tears as she begins to sob against his chest.

For a long time they sit, and he doesn't dare ease his hold on her until she sniffs and tilts her head back just far enough to give him a watery smile, "Hello."

Unable to stop himself from smiling at the resurgence of their old ritual, he stops trying and lifts one hand up to reverently stroke her face, "Hello."

"I'm home," she breathlessly adds, her own grin widening.

"Yes you are," he agrees, his own breath a bit ragged now, then softly presses his lips to hers.


	15. Chapter 15

I own no copyrighted material.

Rose gladly returns the kiss, but instead of pressing for what her body immediately starts screaming for, she simply draws back after a few seconds and snuggles into his chest with a soft hum of contentment uttered in response to the dull thrumming of his two hearts. And the Doctor, unwilling to break whatever dream-or spell, or mind control- he has found himself subjected to since he discovered her climbing the side of his wounded ship, silently holds her close as they watch the other Tardis float at the end of her tether.

Too soon though, discomfort begins to invade the sanctity of their moment, reminding the pair of the cables which they are still wrapped in. After giving her an apologetic kiss, he carefully frees them from the tangled mess, then helps her to stand. He refuses to relinquish his hold on her, so after closing the doors, he guides her back up the ramp and towards the console while keeping an arm around her.

In spite of a childish urge to make a mad dash to fiddle with all of the new levers and bright shiny buttons that beckon him, he lifts one eyebrow and gives her an impish smirk, "Well, aren't you going to introduce us?"

A brief look of confusion flits across Rose's face, but it is hastily washed away by one of pure joy. She slips out of his embrace but maintains her grip on his hand, then internally surmises that their hands still fit together perfectly-in spite of his new body and her century or so of tribulations-before she proudly announces, "Doctor, this is Beauty. She may be young, in comparison to your ship, but she has already saved countless lives and protected people who are precious to me. Beauty, this is my Doctor. Sorry, our Doctor."

His smiles broadens at the brunette's declaration. His is, was, and always will be Her Doctor.

Then, in his head, he can feel the wispy tendrils of Beauty's consciousness reach out and caress the edges of his mind. She is eager to make contact and it shows in strains of bright colors as he happily grants her access, then promptly gasps at the striking similarities and vast differences between the young ship and his own Tardis.

"Incredible! She is absolutely perfect! Well done!" he says aloud to Rose, but grimaces when a sliver of pain and panic-his own upon seeing a fair few threads of dull gray drift through him-pierces his psyche, "What happened to her? She's too young to be bearing those kind of scars!"

"You see, she couldn't grow properly over on the other Earth. Diesel in a petrol engine, remember? I couldn't find all the necessary nutrients to supplement what that universe was lackin' naturally and with the cannon dead it wasn't as easy to hop all over time and space to get them for her. A bit of the scarring is from trying to find alternative ways to nourish her," she admits, ignoring the ache that still flares in her whenever she speaks about her life while stranded in Pete's world, "Luckily I was able to find some methods that worked enough to prevent her from dyin' and then she took off like a bad weed almost as soon as we came back to this universe, so it all worked out in the end. She's still not quite ready to be bouncin' back and forth through time because of some injuries she sustained while protectin' a bunch of us-which is how she got hurt actually, jumpin' into the Vortex too soon-but that's been alright with me. Got used to takin' the slow path over there, I did. Suppose I'm a bit more patient as a result."

"How-how long has it been for you Rose?" the question, though inevitable, still blindsides her when he voices it in a strangled whisper.

"When the universes were finally 100% sealed off from each other, time sped up exponentially over there. So yeah, it's been a while," she wearily admits, his heated glare only confirming to her how weak her explanation is.

"How. Long." the Doctor grinds out, his hands finding and curling themselves around her upper arms, "I like games as much as the next person, but now is neither the time or the place for them. Tell me how long it's been for you Rose. Now."

"I am close to one hundred and forty years old, give or take a few decades since I officially stopped counting after my brother passed away," she throws him an anemic smile to show the memories don't hurt as much as they once did, "You see, back on the Game Station, the Bad Wolf gave me what I wanted, even if I didn't know it at the time. Made me able to spend forever with you."

"But the other-how long did you and he-" the Timelord cannot bring himself to finish the question, his own pain matching the flare of agony in her eyes.

"He died less than twenty four hours after you dropped us off on Delg Ulv Stranden. He thought he was having another neural implosion, like you did after you regenerated, and kept askin' for some of my Mum's tea, but he was really havin' an aneurysm. I figured that part out after he died. He wasn't Timelord enough to withstand everything that came with being one and he burned from the inside out. So you were right, there is a reason metacrises don't exist. They literally tear themselves apart on a cellular level, their genes fighting for dominance until both sides are destroyed," she lets out a heavy sigh before pressing on, "Even when he was dyin' though, he knew something was different about me. He somehow knew my body could handle the strain of a Timelord mind because I'd changed. Been changing since I looked into the heart of your Tardis, I'd wager. He...he shared his mind with me before he died too, so I could find a way to get home. I have it all, your whole lives, swimmin' about my head. I have to search and dig for the information sometimes, mostly because I think he was afraid for me to see how he'd gained a certain piece of knowledge in the first place, but I still have it. Good thing too. The time it's taken for me to learn all the stuff I know kept me from going barmy at times."

His green eyes shift to the floor, grief at the loss of his other self filling him, "I'm so sorry, I didn't kn-"

She cuts off his rambling apology with a gentle kiss, then lays her hands over his twin hearts, "No more regrets for us Doctor. We are both here, now, and we're together. Don't know about you, but I'm tired of wastin' time on what could have beens."

He hesitates only a moment, battling his own fears and reservations, before deciding she is right. It doesn't matter, not presently. Right now it is the Doctor and Rose, in the Tardis. Just as it should be. Even if this particular Tardis is hers.

"Geronimo," he murmurs, then leans in and gives her a kiss that has all of the love, passion, and loneliness of eleven lives wrapped up in it.


	16. Chapter 16

I own no copyrighted material.

Reminder, this is unbeta'd so any spelling/grammar mistakes are my own.

The slow rise to consciousness is accompanied by a dull but pleasant ache, causing Rose to smile dreamily at the memories of her and the Doctor's extremely intimate reunion. Without opening her eyes, she slides a hand across the bed in search of the Timelord, but finds it empty yet still warm. Instead of leaving her bubble of warmth to follow him though, she wraps her arms around his pillow and allows her mind to drift.

_"I love you, Rose Tyler," he declares, their bodies entwined on her bed, "I have waited so long-too long really-to properly tell you that."_

_"I love you too Doctor. Always have," she stretches up for a kiss, which he immediately gives._

_Her fingers delve into his mop of dark hair, nails lightly scraping his scalp and her lips curve slightly when his breath catches in a quiet moan. Once soft touches become more insistent as their mouths dance and her body instinctively arches into his roving hands. Soon her own whimpers echo throughout the room as he seeks out and plunders every secret place she's kept hidden for so many years._

_As he makes love to her with a reverence that borders on worship, she can't help but think this is a dream._

_"Then it is one we share," he murmurs into the quivering flesh of her throat, then utters something in a language so melodic it can only be his native Gallifreyan._

_"What was that?" _

_He pauses in his ministrations to peer down at her, his pale jade eyes locking with her own, "It is my name and my vow to you that I will never belong to another in all my lives." _

_She tries to respond, but a wave of euphoria washes her words away._

_When they are breathless and momentarily spent, they lay cuddled together under the simulated night sky while he teaches Rose how to properly speak his name._

_"It's technically forbidden, for me to speak it unless I am dying, but there is no one left to enforce the laws but me and I refuse to spend my whole life with my wife not even knowing my name."_

_"Your wife huh?" she smirks, the title feeling as natural as breathing as it rolls off her tongue, "Aren't you being just a little presumptuous, seeing as you haven't bothered to propose yet?"_

_"Propose?" he scoffs and pulls her onto his slender chest, "I will never propose to you Rose Tyler, because then you might start thinking you have a choice in the matter and I can't allow that. Besides, we've actually been married forty two times so far, so turning me down now is kind of moot."_

_"And how many of these marriages did you actively direct us towards?" she prods, her chin coming to rest on his sternum._

_"A fair few," he coyly admits, but refuses to elaborate further in spite of her continued queries. _

_Finally she has to resort to using his own ego against him, "Come on, with your oh so superior Timelord brain and all that, I know you know how many. Out with it...unless you've forgotten in your old age..."_

_Suddenly nervous in the face of her challenge, he runs a hand through his messy hair then blurts, "All forty two."_

_His anxiety melts into confusion when a peal of laughter bubbles out of her a second later, "What's so funny?"_

_"Forty two? Seriously?" she cackles, rolling away with a laugh as he nods, "How very Douglas Adams of you."_

_He's quiet a few seconds, then his visage brightens as he begins to smile, "Well, I guess it really is the answer to life, the universe, and everything."_

"You're looking quite pleased with yourself, care to share with the class?" the Doctor enters the room, a heavily laden tray balanced between his hands, "Or is this another one of those ideas that has to be shown in order to get the full experience? Not that I'd mind much. I particularly enjoyed it when you showed me that thing you do with your-"

She interrupts his playful banter with a kiss, "Still got one hell of a gob on you. If you must know, I was just just thinking about when you told me your name and the non-proposal that came afterward."

"It wasn't a non-proposal or a proposal Rose. It was an affirmation, an acknowledgement if you like, of exactly what I believe we are to each other. You are my wife, my bondmate, my eternal plus one. And I am yours, for as long as I live," he carefully sets the tray on the end of the bed and leans down for another kiss before adding, "It wouldn't change anything, but we could have a forty third ceremony. If you wanted."

"You would do that? For me?" her voice is a mere breath.

"Of course I would, no need to be so shocked. Save that for when we find something I wouldn't do for you," he places her hands over his hearts and gives her another loving kiss before sitting back and retrieving the tray, "Now eat your breakfast so we can get on with the day."


	17. Chapter 17

I own no copyrighted material.

Two linear weeks pass before they are able to safely land Beauty inside of the Doctor's Tardis.

"Blimey, she's went and changed the desktop again," he muses aloud as they take a look around, "Serves me right, holding onto all of that radiation for as long as I did. Was kind of hoping it was going to finish me off once and for all."

"Well, I'm glad it didn't, even if you do dance like a pissed giraffe now," Rose teases, flashing her tongue-in-teeth grin at him before saying more seriously, "I'm really glad both of you came out of it in one piece."

"Me too," the Doctor pauses in front of an oversize mahogany cabinet that wasn't present when they arrived, "Not very subtle little one. You'll have to try harder if you want to blend in."

"You're the one who taught her how to use her chameleon circuit," his bondmate taunts as the wardrobe remolds itself into a scantily clad statue of the Timelord striking a classic hero pose, "She's just playing with her new toy Doctor, there's no harm in that."

"I think she's showing off for her Mum," he sniffs, trying to hide his own amusement at the young ship's comical antics, "She needs to rest though, the last few weeks have exerted some serious strain on her systems."

As if on cue, Beauty returns to her natural coral state, then vanishes a moment later as her mother moves her to a quiet room deeper within.

"Mum must agree with you," Roses correctly surmises while following her husband to the new console, "Are we going to take her for a test drive?"

"Absolutely!" he grins as they begin hitting buttons and flipping levers in perfect synchronization, laughing as they madly dart around the controls, "Geronimo!"

_Six days, seven hours, and thirty three minutes later..._

"That's it, no more Santas, Christmases, or any other wintery holiday stuff for me!" Rose declares as they tumble into the modest wood cabin they've been calling home for the last week.

"It wasn't so bad, up until his so called elves tried to sacrifice you to Rudolph," the Doctor cheerily retorts after stomping the snow from his boots and hanging his coat on a hook by the door, "That's what you get for being put on the naughty list though."

She winds her arms around his neck and his hands automatically snake around her waist, "But you said you liked it when I was naughty. Are you telling me you only want me to be a good girl from now on?"

"Definitely not," he growls and presses a kiss to her devious, pouting lips, "And for the record you, Rose Tyler, are very, very good."

"Yeah? I am though, aren't I?" her smile turns sultry as she pulls him down for another toe curling kiss, then reluctantly backs out of his embrace, "Before I make good on that, I'm going to get a shower, I'm still covered in elf goo and it smells terrible."

He stands frozen as she saunters away, wondering exactly when he lost control of the situation.

"Coming?" Rose jolts him out of his thoughts and drops her jumper onto the rug for emphasis.

In a flash he is skittering after his wife, his own gooey clothing scattering in a wild flurry of fabric.

Much later they lay in front of the cabin's lone fireplace, the flames creating a ballet of shadows across the ceiling as they cuddle.

"Do you miss the old me?" the Doctor suddenly asks while holding their joined hands up, their new silvery bands glinting softly in the light, "Either of them?"

"I will always miss certain aspects of your other selves when they aren't around any more," she tells him honestly, "Like the big blue eyes you had when we first met or that happy puppy face you had when you smiled in your last body. But that doesn't mean I am not happy with the way you are now. We all change as we grow older, you just happen to be a bit more literal about it. I accepted that a long time ago."

"And what will you do if my next regeneration looks old enough to be your father? Or grandfather?"

She places a kiss over each of his hearts before answering, "Then I will mercilessly tease you about being a dirty old man...well, more than I already do."

They fall quiet for a short time, simply enjoying one another's presence, until he abruptly kisses her wedding band, "I never did thank you properly."

"For what?"

"For saving me," he hesitates a heartsbeat, "From myself. From my past. For taking me back when you had every excuse in the universe to not ever want me in your life again."

Her kiss is gentle and overflowing with understanding, "We saved each other. And I would never not want you in my life."

"Would you say it again, for me?" she is fully aware of what he is asking and the reason behind it. Even Timelords need reassured sometimes.

"I love you, my Doctor. Forever."

"Forever."


	18. Chapter 18

I own no copyrighted material.

"Okay, so the test run was erm, mostly a success," the Doctor chirrups while inputting a new set of coordinates, "Time to give Miss Amelia Pond her ride!"

Rose hides a smirk behind her hand, unwilling to spoil her bondmate's glee at being able to introduce another person to the infinite wonders of time and space. She and Amy had long ago discussed the series of appropriate reactions she would need to display once the Timelord arrived to whisk her away so she wasn't worried about disappointing him. No. She was fretting about the destination being missed and arriving too early thus causing a paradox of her own timeline.

As the Tardis goes through the landing sequence, she feels no warning tingles of an impending reaper attack, and permits herself to relax. No paradoxes to outrun this time.

Obediently she waits by the double doors while he fusses with his hair and bow tie, then adopts an excited expression when he begins trotting down the stairs, "So where and when are we?"

"Leadworth, home of Amelia Pond, a feisty little ginger. Has a mean swing with a cricket bat," he rubs the back of his head with one hand and opens the door with the other, "I have a feeling the two of you will get along a little too well. You know, maybe this wasn't such a-"

"Oh, just get a move on you useless lump," Rose huffs in exasperation and shoves him out the door...

And into a young woman's bedroom.

"Come on Pond, no sleeping at a time like this," the Doctor prattles while shaking the girl awake, "Places to go, people to see and all that."

"Doctor?" Amy blearily replies, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "What are you doing in my room? It's the middle of the night."

"Finally got the stabilizers calibrated properly. Never made it to the moon though," he starts perusing her room, picking up various items and examining them, "And I did promise you a trip, didn't I?"

"But Doctor, the Atraxi, that was two years ago!" the Scottish woman yells as she vaults from the mattress, startling both the Timelord and his bride.

"I knew it, you mucked the landing. Again," Rose rolls her eyes at his scoff, "And put that down before you break it."

"Who are you?" Amy spins around to glare at the brunette, "And what are you doing in my room? Are you with him? Doctor who is she? She wasn't with you before."

The Doctor scuttles over to Rose, then takes her hand and kisses her ring, "Amelia Pond, meet Rose Tyler. My bondmate."

Amy's eyes widen at his declaration, but extends her hand to shake the hand her raggedy man isn't clinging to, "Pleased to meet you Ms. Tyler. Bondmate, does that mean you're his assistant or bonded servant or something? Because I don't know how I could handle it if-"

"No need to get excited, it simply means I'm his wife. You'll have to excuse him, it's a recent development and he hasn't quite gotten used to using the human term for it yet," Rose explains, hoping her young friend understands what she is attempting to convey, "Who knew training an alien husband would be just as difficult as a human one? Timelords, sheesh, they can be such children."

"Oi! I'm not that bad-oops," he squeaks after accidentally snapping the arm off of a clay figurine. He quickly sets it back on the table and swivels around with a clap, "So are we going Pond? Or will this be our goodbye?"

"Bet your skinny arse I'm going," she retorts and marches towards the big blue box standing in the corner, "Just you try and stop me Raggedy Man."

Rose clears her throat to get Amelia's attention, "Uhm, don't you think you should maybe change clothes first? The Doctor's escapades usually involve a lot of running and climbing, something I don't think your night clothes are all that well suited for."

Amy looks down at her flimsy attire, then towards her closet, "Give me five minutes. And don't let him leave without me."

The older woman nods her head and pushes her twitchy Timelord back into the Tardis with a "Start gettin' her room ready" then shuts the door to prevent any eavesdropping.

She waits a minute to ensure their privacy before murmuring, "Amy, has it really been two years?"

The ginger bobs her head solemnly while fighting with a rucksack, "Did you really get yourself married to the epitome of tall, pale, and geeky?"

"According to him, we actually got married forty two times before we got separated," she holds out her hand to display the simple band, its only decoration being the circular language of Gallifrey etched onto its surface, "He decided he wanted things to be official between us after I saved him from freezing to death halfway between Earth and the moon."

Amy, now dressed in one of Rory's flannel shirts and a pair of trousers, flops onto her bed to pull on her trainers, "How did that happen?"

"Well, his Tardis was still having a hard time with the repairs and blew out her stabilizers when they took off from here. Her engines gave out then the inside starting filling with toxic gas and he opened the doors to air her out. I guess she lurched a bit and he fell out. Typical really. Anyways, by the time I caught up to him, he was dangling from that top light," Rose chuckles at the memory as she describes how the floundering Timelord looked, "I grabbed a couple of cables, floated across to him, tied his Tardis to Beauty, then dragged him back to safety. Proper hero stuff. Of course that wasn't the end of the problems. It took two weeks to even be able to safely get back inside her. Beauty was exhausted from sustaining us and her mum, so her mum put her in a special room while we finished doing repairs and went on a test run. Then we came right here."

"So he didn't forget about me then?" Amy's voice unwillingly cracks with uncertainty, "You didn't forget?"

Rose wraps her arms around the girl and pulls her close, "Not at all sweetheart. We could never forget you. He just missed the landing. You remember me tellin' you how often that happens, right?"

"Yeah," she confirms with a smile, then moves to collect her overstuffed bag, "Can I tell you something Rose? You can't tell him though, I know he'd refuse to let me come along if he found out."

"What's that?"

"I-me and Rory-are getting married tomorrow," Amy sighs and swings open her closet door to reveal the snowy gown, "I love him and he loves me, but I've been dreaming about travelling with the Doctor most of my life and I want to do it, just once, before I officially have to become a responsible adult and all that rubbish."

"Your secret is safe with me," her friend promises and gives her another heartfelt hug, "And I will make sure he gets you home on time. Even if that means I have to knock him out and drive us home myself."

"Thank you," Amy smiles before walking over to the Tardis and loudly knocking on the door, "Doctor, how do I get this stupid door open?"

The doors slides open with a creak and Amy takes a step in, all of the appropriate reactions coming into play to appease her Raggedy Doctor's fragile ego.

Rose simply smiles and trails after the girl, but a vast wealth of pride twinkles in her dark eyes as she goes.


	19. Chapter 19

I own no copyrighted material.

Amy, currently sitting in the open doorway of the Tardis with her legs dangling into space, feels Rose sit down and mime her pose, "So, a giant space whale and a city that lives on it. Is it always like this, travelling with him?"

Rose shrugs one shoulder, "If you asked him, he would tell you that the trouble is just the bits in between. I'm gonna tell you that it's actually about a fifty-fifty chance that he will be able to find some sort of trouble wherever he goes. Kind of the best part though, for me. Never knowing if the next trip is gonna be quiet or full of runnin' and screamin'. You will rack up quite a tally of miracles and nightmares, travelling with the Doctor."

The girl glances over her shoulder, "Where's he got himself into anyways? He disappeared after hanging me out the door. I thought we were having fun. Was I wrong?"

"He started worryin' that all this might be too much for you, the worrywart he can be, so I sent him off to the kitchen for tea and his bloody jammie dodgers while we talked. I didn' want him to panic if you started cryin'," Rose blows out a sigh and rests her head against the door frame, "That man stared down the devil without flinchin', but the sight of a cryin' girl makes him run like hell."

"Who knew that the Doctor's Achilles heel was a girl in tears?" Amy says, then grins at the brunette, "I'll have to remember that next time he goes off on a tirade about how stupid other species are."

"Oh, you get used to that. Just be glad he's moved on from using pyrotechnic displays as a means of communication," Rose snickers in spite of herself, "He blew up my job the night I met him. Blew up a few things actually."

"Henrik's, I remember you telling me the story. Nestene Consciousness," her friend shifts around to a more comfortable position, "What else was different about him?"

Rose tells her about the gruff war veteran she'd first encountered in a dark basement, then moves on to his hyperactive, charming, pinstriped self, but avoids talking about his half human twin. Even after all this time, she's not positive she would be able to talk about him with anyone who hadn't been a part of that particular disaster.

The Doctor eventually finds his way to the media room, where the women relocated to hours before, and discovers them laughing raucously while Rose is describing their run in with Queen Victoria, the crazy monks and their pet werewolf, as well as the bet made between them.

"Knighted and banished on the same day? Unbelievable," Amy cackles at the dirty look the Timelord shoots her direction, "You know Doctor, I think you have it all backwards when you blame your companions for being jeopardy friendly."

With a sniff, he tucks his thumbs into his braces, "I have no idea what you mean Pond. Rose here is the essence of jeopardy friendly and you are certainly seeming to follow along the same vein."

"I think it's you who is actually the trouble magnet," she continues as if he hadn't spoken, "And you need to keep people with you so they can bail your skinny arse out of trouble when you get in over your head."

"I am not a trouble magnet Amelia Pond, you take that back right now," he stomps one foot like an impetuous child being denied a sweet when Amy just laughs harder, "Rose, tell her I am not a trouble magnet right now! Why are you laughing at me? Rose?"

His wife, now on the floor and rolling with bubbling laughter, unsuccessfully tries to wipe away her mirthful tears as she peers up at her pouting husband, "Oh my god! She has been with you for less than a week and has you completely figured out already! You ought to see the look on your face!"

"Not fair! Companions aren't allowed to gang up on the Timelord!" he whines, waiting for them to come to their senses, but eventually has to give up and slink out of the room when the laughter merely doubles.


	20. Chapter 20

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The Tardis barely has time to conclude the landing sequence before the doors fly open, then two streaks-one bright red, the second almost black-go dashing out with matching squeals of delight, leaving the Doctor to trail after them.

"Where are we?" Amy excitedly inquires as she takes in the massive and decidedly alien bazaar sprawling out around them.

"Ploxx. It's an artificial moon that orbits the planet Mew'Kuus. The whole thing is one giant intergalactic trading post," Rose explains over the din, "The Doctor-the blue eyed one-brought me and our friend Jack here to shop as an apology after I accidentally wound up married to a caveman."

"Who in their right mind would name a planet mucus though? Are they trying to discourage tourists or something?" the younger woman pauses to inspect a merchant booth littered with jewelry, "These are pretty."

"You don't want them, trust me. Unless you want to advertise to about fourteen different species that you are a prostitute," Rose pulls her friend away and they resume their stroll, "And it's M-E-W-K-U-U-S, Mew'Kuus, not mucus. Though the planets residents do consider the exchange of body fluids to be a divine act. Oh, and if you kiss someone there you are essentially marrying them. I kissed the Doctor on the cheek once when we visited and suddenly everyone around us started celebratin'. Which marriage was that?"

"Fourth," her bondmate calls out from behind the pair, a bright smile gracing his features momentarily before it melts into a scowl, "You kissed Jack too that day."

"But I didn't marry Jack forty one other times," she reminds him, then proceeds to haul Amy over to another stall, "This jewelry is perfectly benign. No secret meanings or anythin'. They're all handmade so each piece is one of a kind. Made from human safe materials too."

"I can't believe I am jewelry shopping on another planet," Amy giggles while picking up different pieces and examining them, "Rory and Mels would never believe me if I told them this, not in a million years."

"Considering you are also about 23,000 years into your future, I doubt it makes much of a difference," the Doctor comments offhand as he inserts himself beside his bride and slips a bejeweled bangle up her wrist, "You need this one, it looks good on you."

She lifts it to eye level and gives it a critical once over, "I'm not gonna end up poisoned or teleported to a slave ship or anythin' this time, am I?"

"Perfectly plain old bracelet. I double checked," he swears and draws an X over each heart to reinforce his sincerity before snagging Amy's arm and depositing one on her as well, "I know this doesn't make up for fourteen years, but I hope it might help."

He bounds off into the crowd before she can answer. Instead, she turns to Rose, who is scanning her bracelet with her sonic, "What are you doing?"

"Oh you clever boy, I ought to slap you silly, then kiss you senseless," the woman grumbles, but her smile doesn't fade as she pockets her tool, "He hid micro trackers in them. Not a bad idea actually, with how he stumbles into trouble."

"Um, I hate to tell you this, but we're the ones wearing the bangles, not Mister Floppy Hair," Amy grouses while squinting at her own accessory.

"Yep," Rose pops the "P" and gives the Scottish girl a mischievous grin, "But if I adjust the settings on my sonic and track the signal back to its source, we can find him just as easily."

"You love outsmarting him, don't you?" Amy whispers after her friend pays for their purchases and they lose themselves in the crowd once again.

"Absolutely. Now come on, we have an obligation to do some serious damage to these credit sticks before the Doctor gets bored looking at gizmos and gadgets and wants to take us to the next death trap he is no doubt going to drop us into."

The next six hours are spent laughing, trading stories, and flustering the Doctor so badly he eventually offers to carry their bags for them just so he can drift behind them at a safe distance.

He would never admit it to anyone, except maybe Rose if she asked, but engaging in the simple act of shopping with the two women hasn't bothered him nearly as badly as he's pretended throughout the day. Of course the devious women had taken every opportunity afforded them to make make him blush and stammer in embarrassment, but seeing his wife and newest companion smiling and laughing as if they didn't have a care in the world warmed his old hearts.

As he follows, he can almost see another young woman flanking his bondmate, her pale gold hair ruffled from trying on clothes and cheeks flushed from laughing at her mother's tales of their wild adventu-

He shakes his head to clear away the errant thought. As much as he loved his beautiful wife and would do anything in his power to make her happy, he would never be able to give her children. Genetically incompatible, even with the slight traces of Timelord TNA spiraling about her veins.

"Bad Wolf didn't think of everything," he mumbles to himself, then pushes away the melancholy and focuses his attention on the duo's current conversation.

"Please tell me you have pictures of them in their dresses," Amy begs the older woman through her chortles, "I don't even care what face he had at the time. Just knowing it was him is completely worth it."

"If they weren't destroyed when he regenerated, I should be able to find them. She would have kept my albums safe, if she could. I'll start looking when we get back," Rose swears, "Besides, she thought it was as funny as I did, seeing him and Jack all done up like little darlings going to a ball. I think I might even have their dresses stashed in my closet. The Doctor had the cutest pantaloons, Tardis blue, of course. He-"

"Oh look, a diner!" he suddenly crows, pushing between them to take the lead, "I'm famished!"

"Come along Pond," Rose giggles, offering her arm to her friend.

"Gladly R-erm-Petal!" Amy trumpets as she links their arms together, "To the Diner!"


End file.
